My first trip to an art trade show was quite a time in the big city of New York. Three days in a row I headed to the gigantic Javits Center in Hell’s Kitchen on Manhattan’s West Side. I learned a lot, saw some fantastic art and design, and soaked up the sights and sounds of an industry that for years has been humming along right under my nose without my knowledge.
If you go into the housewares section of any department store, you’ll find the work of numerous licensed artists. Any product with a print or design is likely the result of a partnership between a manufacturer—the licensee—and an artist—the licensor.
95% of the industry is comprised of purchases made by women. The biggest piece of the art licensing pie is Christmas and all it’s kitschy glory. Snowmen, reindeer, and holiday cheer are what manufacturers plunk down money for every summer at SURTEX—planning ahead for the big shopping at year’s end.
Some other themes that always find their way into market: roosters, wine, cupcakes, chefs, coffee & tea, and nature. That last one’s important, because I like to draw flowers.
I spent day one of SURTEX attending a series of seminars on the basics of art licensing. I got to hear from some of the leading artists, designers, agents, and manufacturers of the industry. Besides learning the basics of how the industry functions, I came away with two major points: good art sells, and they’re always looking for good art.
These are fantastic facts for aspiring art licensors like me. Unlike galleries that are often too busy or too important to look at new work—and may weigh your CV as heavily as your actual work—art licensees are always open to having a look at something new. Your work may only get eyeballed for 15 seconds, but sooner or later you’ll likely find an audience.
My job is to keep pumping out drawings, organize them thematically, and disseminate them across the country. And maybe learn to draw roosters.
Coinciding with SURTEX were the National Stationary Show and the International Contemporary Furniture Fair. I spent more time in these shows than in the one I’d registered for. Greeting cards, while maintaining a steady stream of dogs with birthday hats, are getting terribly elegant, and I enjoyed wandering the Stationary Show admiring typography and fingering organic handmade paper.
Downstairs was the beautiful and impressive ICFF. You know those ridiculously expensive furniture boutiques where you can sit in high-design $4,000 armchairs and play with $2,000 lamps? Imagine that on a massive showroom floor. There were booths from design firms all over the world and from universities here in the US. There were suppliers of fine woods, metals, and stone. There were individual designers selling rugs and high-brow studios showing off track-mounted flat-screen televisions. There was a little New York design group that made lovely cardboard clocks. And the women! My goodness, the women were incredible.
Elegant cardboard clocks by Tenndo Studios
I digress. SURTEX 2012 was a success. I didn’t make my first million, but I got a good sense of how I can proceed and perhaps happily carve out a little piece of the industry for myself. The best part of the experience was being at a trade show on my own, of my own volition, for my own endeavor, and wearing a name tag that read “Gabriel Roberts; Artist; Carmichael, CA”.
Even if I never rent a booth of my own, I hope to attend many more shows like these, picking up ideas, making connections, and practicing putting myself and my art out there.
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